October 22, 2007

Letters to a Friend - #5

Do not be afraid to spend time just sitting in silence with the Lord. Everything within you might say that you are “wasting time” and that you are not really praying. You must ignore these temptations, for, in fact, you are praying in a very deep and contemplative way. As long as your heart is reaching out to God you can be assured that you are truly praying, for Saint Paul says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)

It is important for you to express your love for God in words; however, it is important as well to express your love for God in silence. For it is through silence that our words become more and more sincere and meaningful and prevent us from just babbling forth prayers to God that have no real depth or commitment on our part.

The quantity of silence will vary for each person, and considering our loud and often chaotic modern world, the amount of silence may be very little. Still, you must try and cultivate silence when possible. Here are a few suggestions: waking up 15 minutes earlier in the morning when there is less activity going on to spend time in prayer, driving without the radio on in your car, designating one or two nights a week where you will not turn on the TV or computer, or spending some extra time in church when it is likely that many people will not be there.

Gradually, as silence becomes less and less a stranger in our lives, our sensitivity to the presence of God living inside of us deepens and we become more at peace with God, ourselves, and those around us. However, if we are always talking, if we are always “busy,” or if we are constantly surrounded by noise, we may never come to experience just how close God is to us, for He Himself says in the psalm, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Br. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR

St. Leopold Friary, Yonkers, NY

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